thread locking part 2

[JIMINATOR]

there they go and did it again! if a thread must be shut down, please quote which rule it violated before doing it. This being the OT forum I don't understand why any thread should be closed here. I'm not PMing anyone, this is a public forum and the things that happen here should be discussed in public. In the past two days there are only 6 active threads. An admin closed one of them. Well, if I was to close all the threads that I thought had run their course, there would be nothing left to read at all. Three years ago I could read new topics, come back in a half hour and there would be 2-3 new pages of new posts. Today there are 6 active topics in the past 2 DAYS. When an admin closes one of them for no apparent reason, it really is a smack in the face to those people that continue to come here and post here. The forums are a place where a community can come and thrive. Abuse the community and people will just stop coming here. Please do us a favor and do not lock this thread, and unlock the other.

[Grimmy]

He felt as if it should be closed so he closed it. If they close it, fine, where does it say in the rules that if a thread is closed they have to state why it was closed? Again, PM the person who closed it, about it.

[MassacreAL]

go Jim, i fully agree with you :thumbs: you would be great admin

[MassacreAL]

btw Sho, you are great admin too, but you are maybe sometimes observing good morale too much. we are no kids and we dont have to be monitored

[Pure_Evil]

your question as to why the thread was closed was answered, the reason the other thread was closed was also answered.

[Sirc]

Seriously...lighten up admins. Unless a thread bursts into major flames there's really no sound reason to lock anything at all.

It's the "lively discussions" that have ALWAYS brought the most people online here and have provided the most entertainment. And it keeps people coming back. No offense to anyone - but screenshots don't interest me. If you think about it, community participation here was much higher when the rules were more lenient and discussions were allowed to get a little heated. People like a bit of drama.

Bottom line, IMHO, is that GM has lost many more people because of the tightened restrictions on posting than it has lost because of any drama that may have arisen. GM is a gaming site. Hell, even the WoW forums make GM look like a Disney forum. Take a look at any of the popular gaming forums. The ones that are most successful are the ones that are moderated with moderation. Back when Sal clamped down on the flame threads his reasoning was that he didn't want to run off new members. What actually happened was that it ran off the regulars because there was no more reason to login and see what was happening at GM anymore.

Lighten up and give people more freedom here please. I'm not saying that flame threads should be allowed to get out of hand, but there must be some happy medium.

[BobtheCkroach]

Lighten up and give people more freedom here please. I'm not saying that flame threads should be allowed to get out of hand, but there must be some happy medium.

Amen. :thumbs: :thumbs:

[FUS1ON]

Ok you have had you say and we have read it. Do not start another thread about this.

[FUS1ON]

Lighten up and give people more freedom here please. I'm not saying that flame threads should be allowed to get out of hand, but there must be some happy medium.

http://www.gamemecca.net/forums/showpost.php?p=683393&postcount=125

Read that post, it was posted back on like the 7th page and that thread is on the 16th page now. Room was given so you can stop with the "give us room" crap ! :rolleyes:

[MassacreAL]

sorry, but i still cant find out why "whos the best" thread should be closed now. what about public poll about this thread? im sure public poll would give you better opinion

[JIMINATOR]

a lot of people still play sam and have opinions about it. the admins apparently don't and have not for a long time. that being said, they should appoint other active clan leaders to moderate these threads. Nobody is here "doing us a favor" by allowing us to post. Our posts are the lifeblood of GM. The thread is not hurting anyone. if anyone doesn't like it, just don't read it, no biggie.

On a similar note, why was Biggs thread closed? I may have comments about the classlessness that happened, how come I can't respond in the thread?

What is up with all this censorship going on here? There are few enough posts. Are you guys trying to just drive everyone away? Do you really think it would be "no great loss?"

[Pure_Evil]

believe it or not, this is not a "free forum" there are rules and there are grey areas. The admins manage the forums and lock and move threads as they see fit. That's the way it is.

Sal has asked me in the past to "Knock it off" and has closed my threads in the past and I've honored his descision. Why, because his name is red, which means what he says goes or there are consequences.

The admins have stated there answeres and told Jim, sirc and whoever else if they have a problem, PM us or go over our heads.
If you can't follow the requests, then expect your threads to be closed, moved, or deleted.

I'm not debating this. There are over 1000 members, with 1000 diferent opinions on what's ok and what's not. Bottom line, the ones with red names make the final descision.

[MassacreAL]

Admins should make forums funny and interesting, not boring and empty.

this thread closing is ****ing me off. i dont know how is it with others, but i hate it. honestly.

[Sirc]

GM was originally formed to serve the SS community. It was comprised of SS clans and solo players who became fed up with how Seriously! forums were being managed. GM exists because people wanted a community with a relaxed sense of moderation and censorship.

Reasons were given for the thread locks, but it doesn't mean they were good reasons. Yep, the names in red have the final word, but you're making decisions that shouldn't be made. You guys aren't sheep herders on a ranch, you're bouncers in a night club. As long as no one is getting hit by a bottle then you shouldn't be interfering and telling people what they can talk about (within reason) or telling them how long they can talk about it. I hope the names in red haven't lost sight of the spirit on which GM was founded.

There may be over 1000 people registered here, but that has nothing to do with how many people actively post here.

I like Jim's idea about moderators. :thumbs:

Confucius say: "Those who rule with an iron fist often find themselves empty-handed". :P

[Goober]

I like Jims idea about the moderators also. Pathos, Sauron and I were asked to be the moderators of the serious sam forum a long time ago. Pathos and Sauron aren't around as much as they used to so I suppose Shogun has taken up their slack. That being said I will gladly step aside and let one of the clan leaders who play sam more than I take over as moderator. Perhaps a Villain, Grim Reaper or Saint?

[JIMINATOR]

Put die hard & TiK there, as active clan leaders playing sam, you too goober, I think I have seen you playing sam a few weeks ago.... :)

[Asian Invasian]

Honestly I agree with Jim and Sirc

They aremaking a very good point, that thread kept me on gm everday checking to see what was going on, im sure alot of other members were doing the same. Locking that thread basically is like saying you want GM to die.

These forums were build upon SS and i feel that we shouldnt close the most active topics because I said hi to chyl.

You deleted my post because i said hi to chyl, sorry thats kind of extreme sho :P i can see wehre you coming from, but there was no reason to lock it because of me ;)

[Mad Fox]

Man I must have missed out on a lot

[FUS1ON]

Admins should make forums funny and interesting, not boring and empty.

this thread closing is ****ing me off. i dont know how is it with others, but i hate it. honestly.

We have done many things here trying to make GM more interesting including holding different types of contests and introducing new games. If you guys do not participate in them, then it is wasted effort. If you or anyone else has a problem do not call the Admins out in public like was done in this thread or if you have an idea that will improve GM, present it to an Admin via PM and we will discuss it. In spite what you may think, we are open to suggestions and willing to work with you if asked in the proper way.



a lot of people still play Sam and have opinions about it. the admins apparently don't and have not for a long time. that being said, they should appoint other active clan leaders to moderate these threads. Nobody is here "doing us a favor" by allowing us to post. Our posts are the lifeblood of GM. The thread is not hurting anyone. if anyone doesn't like it, just don't read it, no biggie.

On a similar note, why was Biggs thread closed? I may have comments about the classlessness that happened, how come I can't respond in the thread?

What is up with all this censorship going on here? There are few enough posts. Are you guys trying to just drive everyone away? Do you really think it would be "no great loss?"

Sam is a fun game that is still enjoyed by a fair amount of players, we are not disputing that and are not trying to kill off Sam. IIRC the mods for that section do not play Sam so we do need mods that are still interested in playing that game and will run that section according to the rules like keeping threads on topic.

BTW Jim if you will check the time of my post in that thread where I reopened it and your post here, you will see that Bigg's thread was opened back up a good ten minutes before your post. Look before you leap.

Is it too much to ask that threads stay on topic? This is directed at everyone, if you have question or wish to make a comment that is not related to the original topic, then please start another thread. That is common forum etiquette at every forum I visit. I promise you it doesn't cost anything. I'm not scared to close a thread or delete posts and end up looking like the bad guy or afraid I will lose popularity points with certain members because of doing what i'm supposed to do.



GM was originally formed to serve the SS community. It was comprised of SS clans and solo players who became fed up with how Seriously! forums were being managed. GM exists because people wanted a community with a relaxed sense of moderation and censorship.

Reasons were given for the thread locks, but it doesn't mean they were good reasons. Yep, the names in red have the final word, but you're making decisions that shouldn't be made. You guys aren't sheep herders on a ranch, you're bouncers in a night club. As long as no one is getting hit by a bottle then you shouldn't be interfering and telling people what they can talk about (within reason) or telling them how long they can talk about it. I hope the names in red haven't lost sight of the spirit on which GM was founded.

There may be over 1000 people registered here, but that has nothing to do with how many people actively post here.

I like Jim's idea about moderators. :thumbs:

Confucius say: "Those who rule with an iron fist often find themselves empty-handed". :P

Thanks for the history lesson, we are fully aware of why GM was started. Lately i've given room to express yourself and I let that thread go on when other were asking me why and still I have you coming here protesting.

Sirc your "There may be over 1000 people registered here, but that has nothing to do with how many people actively post here." comment looks like you are insinuating that it is the Admin's faults that activity has decreased, that is BS and you know it! The fact is that Sam got old and the majority of players that used to come here have moved on to other games. Those games were not very popular here so they stopped coming here. That and the MMORPG type games have sucked up a few never to be heard from again.


Honestly I agree with Jim and Sirc

They aremaking a very good point, that thread kept me on gm everday checking to see what was going on, im sure alot of other members were doing the same. Locking that thread basically is like saying you want GM to die.

These forums were build upon SS and i feel that we shouldnt close the most active topics because I said hi to chyl.

You deleted my post because i said hi to chyl, sorry thats kind of extreme sho :P i can see wehre you coming from, but there was no reason to lock it because of me ;)

That was great that you came back everyday, I want you to keep coming back, but why for just THAT thread. Start a new topic of conversation and see what happens.

There is a thread to welcome back Chyl, use that thread to say hey or welcome back. That is what that section is for.

BTW I did not close that thread just because of you, there were other reasons and they have already been posted.

[Sirc]

Shogun -

First of all, let me say that nothing I have said was meant to be personal to either you or PE. I like and respect you both, and I think you both deserve to be admins here.


Lately i've given room to express yourself and I let that thread go on when other were asking me why and still I have you coming here protesting.

What thread did you allow to go on? And who was asking why you were still allowing me to come here protesting? Was I specifically singled out? Why don't these "others" post and say what's on their minds? It's an open discussion. Don't I have a right to express my opinions here freely without you "giving me room" to do so? Are you preparing to ban me? You said so much in that one sentence, both explicitly and implicitly. Shut me up if you want. You're name is red and you know where the ban button is. You certainly won't be the first to ban Sirc for talking freely.


Sirc your "There may be over 1000 people registered here, but that has nothing to do with how many people actively post here." comment looks like you are insinuating that it is the Admin's faults that activity has decreased, that is BS and you know it!

No, that's not at all what I was implying. PE gave the impression that there were over 1000 active members who's opinions he had to deal with here. There isn't nearly that many. The GM community is much smaller than it used to be. But yes, I do think that the "cleansing" that took place did factor in as far as GM being less of a draw for people. For good or bad the drama threads packed the place every time, and that's a fact. All that happened long before you and PE became admins though.


The fact is that Sam got old and the majority of players that used to come here have moved on to other games.

I'm willing to bet money that the majority of people actively posting here STILL play SS on a regular basis. It may have gotten old for you and I, but SS is still the #1 game here. You need to recognize that and let the SS players make their "Whose the best" threads without making them feel like it's trivial and unwelcome.


Is it too much to ask that threads stay on topic?

Threads go off topic all the time. On all game forums everywhere. It's natural for people to go off on tangents sometimes. And it should be allowed up to a point. If it goes way too far then try to guide people back instead of issuing a warning and then locking the thread. Killing popular threads is simply not in GM's best interest.

Of course my name is in black here, so what do I know about what's best for GM? And to top it off I'm Sirc and nothing but a troublemaker. That's what it really comes down to, right? Whatever. I remove myself from this discussion. GL.

[FUS1ON]

Read this:
http://www.gamemecca.net/forums/showpost.php?p=683393&postcount=125

It is from page 7 of the "Whose the best" thread. That thread is up to 16 pages now on my forum skin and settings. That is giving some room in my book and way more than I would have given in the past. There is no definate answer to the "Who is the best" (correct way to spell it Krazy 8) because no one single person will ever just make up some tourney rules and say here they are, sign up or shut up and run it they way they want. Everyone that has ever tried wants to discuss it to death and with the numbers of opinions here, that is impossible. Ooops kind of going OT.

I'm sorry maybe I didn't make myself clear earlier, No one PM'd me about you. Sorry for the confusion. Contrary to what some people think, we do not like banning people. Crap if nothing else y'all add to the excitement. :D Persons PM'd me asking why it was still open and the comments that were being made in there made me decide to close it.

Someone PM'd me inquiring why it was closed, we discussed it and I reopened it, I forget which page it was on then but it is amazing how well that works when someone does it correctly instead of starting threads like these two.

I'm sure we are willing to let "Whose the best" type threads and any thread within reason continue here, but they will not turn into a "Nobody" type thread that goes on and on. There is a section for that and the Sam section is not it.

[TheMaster]

I am one of the regular users here who is still playing in all three Sam games. But along with that I have gotten into other games as well, like Doom III and Tomb Raider Legend. But returning to the topic.

Being a board administrator myself on another site, I know the importance of keeping a message board fun and clean, as well as enforcing the rules as needed. I agree with Shogun that if a forum rule has been violated, the thread should be locked up, and any discussion on it should be conducted via PM, or an instant messenger like MSN. I also agree that everyone on the administration and moderation team has done what they could to improve GameMecca. It seems they never stop coming up with new ways to make this board more fun and more interesting.

But I must also agree with Jim and Sirc in that, admins and mods also should have a good reason to lock threads down, and to let people know what they did. Especially if they did not read the rules before posting, because then they have pretty much no idea what is welcome and what is not. It might improve the boards more if violators got a notice, publically or by PM, basically saying what it is they did wrong. I went through the rules thread just now, and I found nothing about going off topic in a thread. But in all honesty, I think if a thread is made for a specific purpose or topic, then that's the topic that users should stick to. That's my opinion on this.

Bottom line is, the administrators made a decision to lock a thread, and a thread addressing this issue has already been locked. Jim, are you sure you would not be better off simply talking this over with them via PM? People have come to me about the decisions I have made that way, and we have been able to fix problems.

[Death Engineer]

I would just like to say.... ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?? > : ) Everyone take a deep breath and exhale deeply.... Now wipe the spit off your screen and smile cuz Sal lubs all of you. That is all.

[JIMINATOR]

That is giving some room in my book and way more than I would have given in the past.
Yes. I guess what I don't understand is if a thread is popular, why close it? who cares how big it gets? let it get to 100000 pages, so what? let sal complain that he has no webspace left, then do something about it. if it keeps people coming back and posting, then that is a good thing. if people want to post off topic stuff in threads, then so what, let them. there are rules as to what constitutes abuse. if a thread does not violate them then it should stay open. the off topic stuff is just a part of natural language. when people talk, they often digress to other subjects. that is fine, it makes for a more lively and interesting conversation. why should i have to go into another thead for that? The people that come here and post want to have fun doing it. everyone's idea of fun is different. I mean look at the contradictions here. On the one hand the complaint is that the sam group has shriveled up to nothing. On the other hand the big heavy fist of the law is going to lay the smackdown on those few remaining people. Since you obviously have a problem with the sam threads i really think you should recuse yourself and give someone else the moderation. Should this be a pm? why? why can't unpopular decisions be discussed in the public? Certainly other people pay for the forums. that is understood. but without us, the posters, there are no forums. admins don't keep people coming back. the posters are the ones that do that. (although certainly your efforts in the photoshop group are commendable!)

as for the time stamps, i saw your update after finishing my post, so thanks for reopening that thread.

[ME BIGGD01]

I would like my name to be in lime green. I think that color rocks for some reason.

Anyone for a group hug?:)

Ok here is my take on all of this and trust me it odes not mean anything. I think always a complaint should be done in a pm to the person who has done it. I can understand everyones frustrations but sometimes going public will make things worst and could be unfair to the administrators and also the people that are unhappy with a particular disagreement. I think if a simple pm was made after the thread was closed with a request to reopen it to the admin who closed it was not answered with reason or the ability to discuss reasoning on both sides then maybe going above the admins or having it discussed in the councel should be done. I think maybe frustrations got the best out of a few that probably could have been discussed properly in a different 1 on 1 or 3 on 1 manner. I think it's almost impossible for everyone to see things eye to eye and that is normal. It is also normal for people willing to compromise for the better of any situation.

I also like the Idea of people creating new ideas to make things more alive around GM in a positive way and something to bring some fun to us that need it. I can only watch so many posted google videos in a week:o . Someone should start a thread listing what their favorite reasons for coming to GM daily or often. I think we can look at the results and build from that.

[Pure_Evil]

Quote:
Sirc your "There may be over 1000 people registered here, but that has nothing to do with how many people actively post here." comment looks like you are insinuating that it is the Admin's faults that activity has decreased, that is BS and you know it!

No, that's not at all what I was implying. PE gave the impression that there were over 1000 active members who's opinions he had to deal with here. There isn't nearly that many. The GM community is much smaller than it used to be. But yes, I do think that the "cleansing" that took place did factor in as far as GM being less of a draw for people. For good or bad the drama threads packed the place every time, and that's a fact. All that happened long before you and PE became admins though.
I never implied that I had to deal with 1000 different opinions, I stated that there are over 1000 members and each member has it's own opinion :P

frankly, I don't have to deal with anyone, I choose to deal with what I care about. Someone blatently calling out a admin publically after being told to do it privately is my beef and that's where it stands. Back when GM was verry active, we had people calling out Sal and grimmy all the time, and each time the thread was closed and that person was told to use PM's. It's no different now.

Frankly Sirc, I like you and jim, but you guys have dissapeared for months before and the forums are still here, so if you guys decide that you don't like the way it's run and you dissapear again, the forums will still carry on. Same goes for when I dissapear.

As for your iron hand and empty fist remark, since I've been a admin, I've only banned advertising accounts and closed their threads with the exception of 1 or 2 others, that's not quite iron in my book :rolleyes:

[SALvation]

*wakes up*

Huh? Wha? Drama? Yay.

Admins, continue this discussion in the admin forum. kthxbye.

[Grimmy]

*wakes up*

Huh? Wha? Drama? Yay.

Admins, continue this discussion in the admin forum. kthxbye.

I lost my thong, can you send me a new one please? :D

[Sexyjess]

why cant u have a vote? :D admins can do some ideaas and put a vote or something see how many ppl thinks that and that ...

in that way its fair so do it :) or we gonna see this theard step to 3..4..5 LOL :P u get me

[Pathos]

I would be more than happy to step down as mod. Err, not that i ever really stepped up! All i've ever done with these strange abilities is, like, pin a couple of threads and allow myself the odd expletive! I'm not sure i even know HOW to ban or lock anything... besides, i find everything too funny for that! "Whose the best" may as well have been called "eheheheheHEH!!!" or "why GameMecca still RULES!" as far as i'm concerned!

So bring on the new breed of badass, holy-sh!t-watch-him-go moderator! I'm thinking a Zoolander type with super powers. Heaven help those whiney douchebags and marauding nerds!

Meanwhile, if there is a place where bad moderators go to hell, that is where you'll find me. I'll be the dude getting hit on the head by Sauron with a giant, replica BAN button and looking sad. Look out for the special guest appearance by Goober, who will be playing a more forum-friendly version of Satan and offering up some hardcore PG-13 smackdown!

Word.

[Die Hard]

You forgot the Sheep Pathos. Best French accent: 'You naughty boy'

[Goober]

Oh my goodness......A Pathos sighting!! Howdy your dudeness!!!
I definately thing we need new mods for the Sam forum. Us old mods are getting wayyyyy too soft and lenient. I haven't locked a thread in over a year, and I haven't heard Pathos scold anyone (or offer up a spanking) for as long. So bring on a mod who can muster up the courage to lock a thread when it has reached 3.124 pages long, or someone calls someone else a "poopy head", and the someone else replies "oh yeah?....you smell and your skillz suxorz" . I just don't have the spunk it takes to make these bold decisions anymore.

[Die Hard]

Way too scary for me...

[JayChyl]

Words of wisdom

[Speedsweeper]

Sorry, edited due to me being a dumbass.

[JIMINATOR]

I have changed my mind, i think certain threads should be locked.... :)

[MassacreAL]

this thread was soo funny :wub: (why the heck is locked the most funny threads?)